Letters | Why boycott art when it connects us in common humanity?
Readers discuss the protest on the opening night of the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, making our electoral process more accessible, and the practical use of the word ‘cum’
Because of the perceived inability of the international order to stop Israel, professional organisations and individuals are increasingly using boycotts to make a stand. Agricultural and commercial exports, tourism and even Israeli academia and medical institutions have been boycotted by various parties and to varying degrees. But boycotting art seems to be particularly controversial.
Art is exactly the space where courageous and/or rebellious individuals could speak their mind and remind societies of long-forgotten fundamental moral values. In the Jewish-Israeli context, such fundamental value can for instance be the golden rule, expressed as “You should treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself”.
Specific artists should of course be individually boycotted if they express an untenable position. But boycotting any and all Israeli artists is very different.